DFBE 25

Chapter 25

A night market.

There’s no way I’m missing a big event like this.

Lucy looked at Bartholomew.

“Since we’re already out, would you like to look around the night market too, Young Master Bartholomew?”

She had a feeling he had never seen a night market before.

After all, even for her—after transmigrating into this world—it was her first time seeing one.

“I’ll have the carriage take you back before the temple gates close.”

Bartholomew was secretly surprised by her suggestion.

Truthfully, he didn’t want to return to the temple so early.

For the first time in his life, he wanted to continue exploring the city.

He wanted to see how other people lived.

The problem was that he didn’t know how to ask to stay longer.

He felt embarrassed to honestly admit to Lucy just how lacking in experience he was.

That today was the very first time he had ever come into town.

But Lucy had proposed visiting the night market first.

Bartholomew had no reason to refuse.

“Very well.”

The two left the bookstore together.

Lucy signaled with her eyes to the knight guarding her nearby.

It meant they would look around a little longer before heading back.

Perhaps because they had spent quite a while inside the bookstore, the sky had already turned a deep dark blue.

The scenery before entering the bookstore and after leaving it felt completely different.

The shops had closed early, and instead, lanterns hung overhead while street stalls filled the roads.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Only then did Bartholomew realize he was starving.

Lucy led him toward a food stall.

It was selling grilled handmade sausages.

The smell was so enticing that even someone who wasn’t hungry would probably feel their appetite awaken just by passing by.

Lucy ordered two sausages.

“Here you go.”

She accepted the two skewers and handed one to Bartholomew.

The two bit into their sausages at the same time.

Lucy’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

It’s delicious.

Rich juices burst out together with the savory aroma of spices.

Her mouth instantly watered.

Bartholomew was no different.

To him, the sausage was astonishing.

Because of his weak health, he had always eaten bland foods.

This was the first time in his life he had tasted something so stimulating.

“It’s good, right?”

“…It is.”

Seeing the fascinated look in his eyes as he stared at the sausage, Lucy felt oddly proud.

The two continued walking side by side, eating sausages while browsing the stalls.

Lucy stopped in front of a jewelry stand.

Thinking it might be nice to buy something as a souvenir of the night market, she found herself looking at a necklace.

“One of these, please.”

At that moment, Bartholomew pointed at the necklace Lucy had been examining and paid for it.

Lucy looked at him in disbelief.

Bartholomew held the necklace out to her.

When she didn’t immediately take it, he tilted his head slightly.

“Wasn’t this the one you liked?”

“…No. I mean, yes.”

Lucy accepted the necklace.

Bartholomew gave me a present.

She felt strangely emotional.

It was like a proud stray cat finally approaching her first.

This feels different from when Cecil showed affection toward me.

Maybe it was because she hadn’t approached Bartholomew with a specific goal in mind, but had genuinely tried to become friends with him.

That small corner of his heart she had earned felt incredibly precious to her.

“Thank you.”

Lucy said it with a bright smile.

Bartholomew felt oddly dazed.

Compared to what an imperial princess usually received, it was an extremely shabby accessory.

And yet Lucy was sincerely delighted by it.

As if he had given her something extraordinary.

“I heard people saying there’ll be fireworks soon. Let’s go watch.”

Lucy grabbed Bartholomew and led the way.

By now, Bartholomew followed her naturally, as if he had already gotten used to it.

The two squeezed into the crowd of people waiting for the fireworks.

“Oh, right. Is Cecil doing well?”

Thinking of Cecil earlier had suddenly made Lucy curious about him.

“Did he perhaps ask about me or anything?”

For an instant, Bartholomew felt as though cold water had been poured over him.

Like something impure had intruded upon a precious moment and ruined it.

“I wouldn’t know. We don’t meet.”

After a brief pause, he added,

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to write him a letter as well?”

Lucy shook her head with a laugh.

What would happen if she sent Cecil those picture-diary-like letters she had written to Bartholomew?

The affection she had painstakingly built up might actually decrease.

Meanwhile, Bartholomew interpreted her smile differently.

To him, she looked shy.

He thought of Cecil.

Lucy’s personal healer.

The sight of him desperately carrying the collapsed Lucy away to heal her.

The way he had interrogated Bartholomew about whether he had given Lucy poison.

And then at the imperial banquet—

Bartholomew had seen Lucy and Cecil exchange greetings with their eyes.

Lucy had smiled brightly at him.

Is that man Cecil also one of the princess’s friends?

Or perhaps…

“What exactly is your relationship with Healer Cecil?”

The moment the words slipped out, Bartholomew regretted them.

No matter how kindly Lucy treated him as a friend, it was presumptuous of him to pry.

But Lucy answered casually.

“Well. I suppose we’re in the process of becoming closer.”

She couldn’t exactly call him a romance target, so she phrased it vaguely.

In the process of becoming closer.

So she treated that man kindly too, just as she did him.

Bartholomew’s eyes darkened—

At that moment—

“Ah! I think the fireworks are starting!”

Lucy pointed toward the sky.

Bartholomew lifted his gaze.

Fireworks exploded across the night sky, blooming into brilliant flowers of light.

Bartholomew stared in fascination.

There were so many beautiful things in the world he had never known.

Even the fireworks before him now were like that.

How many beautiful things like this existed in the world?

Most of all, he was curious about the ocean, which he had only ever read about in books.

But he knew he would never see it with his own eyes before he died.

Bartholomew looked at Lucy.

The light from the fireworks illuminated her face, brightening and darkening it in turns.

He thought her face was beautiful.

And at the same time, it made him unbearably sad.

He wished this moment could last forever.

But he knew it couldn’t.

Nothing in this world was eternal.

Even the fireworks before his eyes—

They bloomed magnificently only to disappear without a trace.

A bitter smile formed on Bartholomew’s lips.

And at that very moment—

A man in the crowd silently watched Lucy and Bartholomew.

…Interesting.

Pulling his hood lower over his face, the man quietly disappeared.

Finally.

The moment Lucy reeled in a fish larger than her own arm, she realized it.

Her fishing level had definitely reached max level.

And she was right.

Ding!

[Congratulations!]

[Your fishing skill has reached its maximum level.]

[Lv.10 Title Acquired: “Legendary Fisher”]

“Wow.”

Lucy muttered with lifeless eyes.

What was the point of becoming a legendary fisher in a dating simulation game?

Was there even a male lead who liked fish?

No matter how hard she thought about it, there wasn’t.

Just as she concluded she had once again gained a completely useless skill—

Ding!

[A special ability has been granted to you for reaching Legendary rank.]

[You now have a certain probability of obtaining rare items through fishing.]

An item?!

Lucy’s eyes sparkled.

You should’ve said that earlier!

And rare items at that.

Items like that might help me capture the male leads.

Lucy immediately continued fishing to test it out.

The other fishermen nearby stared in admiration.

As if they had all planned it beforehand, they began applauding.

The young lady had looked so delicate at first, yet now she was catching massive fish that even experienced fishermen struggled to reel in.

And despite reaching the level of a master, she continued fishing without stopping.

Without caring what she caught, she simply embraced the beauty of patience.

Lucy didn’t realize it, but she had become a role model for many fishermen.

While she stood there bewildered by the mysterious applause—

Something suddenly caught on her fishing rod.

Huh?

It felt completely different from catching a fish.

Lucy lightly lifted the rod and caught the object in her hand.

It was a pair of rings.

Ding!

[Congratulations!]

[You have acquired a rare item.]

[Heart-to-Heart Rings]

[Effect: The wearers of these rings can share each other’s pain.]

“That’s it?”

Lucy blurted out in disbelief.

Then another system window appeared.

[Additional effects have not yet been discovered.]

Lucy lowered her gaze to the rings.

Rather than a rare item…

This feels more like junk loot.